Bet My Life
by Santana Hastings
Summary: Season 4 re-do: Spencer and Emily become each other's rocks after the big A reveal, best friends and support systems. Suddenly, friendly feelings become more, and another, more dangerous A is on the horizon.
1. Prologue

**A/N: This is my first Pretty Little Liars fanfiction! It's a season 4 complete re-do, Mona has been revealed as Original and Uber A. Toby and Spencer have broken up after the big A team reveal, Emily and Paige aren't together anymore either. Please comment and review, thanks.**

"Do you think if we did it all over again, we'd be right here, still best friends?" Spencer Hastings wondered aloud, leaning back on her white, satin sheets. Next to her, in life and in this moment was Emily Fields. During these grueling, terrifying two years, the girls only had each other and Hanna and Aria, of course. A, the elusive monster that she was, had been taken down by the four liars.

Let's just say that Mona went down swinging. She spun tales of lies and deceit after she was exposed for the first time. Using the wonderfully sweet Hanna to her advantage, Mona convinced everyone she was done with the A game and was released from Radley. Little did any of the girls know that it was not so shockingly, all a well crafted tale. During her time in and out of Radley, Mona had ensnared Cece, Wren and the ever so loyal Toby in her manipulative web. If it wasn't for Spencer and Hanna's detective work, they may have still been being tortured.

"Spence, you didn't just ask me that. No matter what, no matter who or why, I'd still be where I am right here. Sitting in this exact spot." Emily sat up, tendrils of her obsidian hair in her glowing, coffee colored faced. Out of all the girls, other than Hanna, who was Emily's first supporter, she felt closest to Spencer. When she was with her, it was as if she was looking at the other, smarter and more intense self. Curling up toward the taller girl's side, Emily squinted, trying to decipher Spencer's thoughts. "What's going on in that Ivy League brain of yours?"

Brushing her violet nails against Emily's tanned forearm, her dark eyes filled with a deep, indescribable emotion. Her voice grew husky, "do you really wanna know?" Spencer sighed, this whole A ordeal was still taking a toll on her. Her lip quivered, it's minty gloss shimmering.

"I want to know Spencer, bottling up your emotions and theories is what got you into the Radley mess. You need to talk to me, to all of us." Emily ranted, but stopped when she realized the fact that she had brought up the dreaded Radley situation. Spencer's cheeks grew a beet red and she avoided Emily's gaze, hugging her sweatpant clad knees. "I didn't mean it like that, I want you to be open with me. Ali was wrong, Spence, secrets don't keep us close."

"I was thinking about Ali, ok. I thought that if she was alive, if she just turned up one day, what would happen to all of us?" She said, exasperated.

"Why would you say that? Yes, things would change, but we would finally get answers. Everything would be the way it's supposed to be." After all this time, Emily still had a soft spot for her first love, Ms. Alison Dilaurentis.

"If only I could be as positive as you, Em. That's what I love about you." Emily's face reddened slightly, but that happened when she received most compliments, she told herself. "Ali was wrong, you know. You're not the weak one, you're the strong one. You see the world as it should be, you always want everyone to be happy. That's what makes you strong, not weak." Spencer's crooked smile lit up her face, she cared about sweet Emily more than most people in her life.

Resting her head on Spencer's shoulder, Emily let out a timid yawn. "Can I just crash here tonight S?" She asked, pushing the mound of textbooks off her bed.

"Of course, I'll get us some sweats. Do you want your regular, or do you feel like changing it up. Doesn't the Rosewood Shark logo get old?" Spencer giggles, a rarity for her.

"Don't dark, gold buttoned blazers ever get old?" Emily retorted, rolling her eyes playfully at her friend.

Throwing the powder blue, sweatpants at the swimmer, "shut up and put on the pants."

"Ok, Officer Hastings." She bursted into a fit of laughter, and dashed to the closet to change.

**2 hours later**

Midnight fell on Rosewood, as a hooded figure sprinted through the streets, high heels clacking against the pavement. They held a crowbar tightly in their clutches, busting in a window in The Brew. Shattered glass covered the floor, as the individual crept into the quaint cafe. Taking two cans of red and black spray paint out of a violet coat pocket, they began to spray obnoxiously large letters. It read "You think I'm gone, you don't know the half of it -A."


	2. Glass

**A/N: Hi guys! I'm so excited about this new chapter, we delve deeper into the very touchy feely Spemily friendship and the girls learn some pretty shocking news. Special thanks to Danielle and Alice for their kind words, keep the reviews coming!**

The glittering, Saturday morning sun shone through Spencer's window. Her arms were woven around Emily's strong, athletic shoulders, holding the girl gently. They were so exhausted from the night before, they had fallen asleep instantly on the bed, cuddled up like two bears in hibernation. Spencer turned to Emily, examining her exquisitely exotic features, her coal black eyelashes fluttered on her closed lids, she must have been thinking hard, or maybe she was dreaming. Emily's pale pink lips were pressed tightly together, Spencer noticed a stray, dark beauty mark under her plucked left eyebrow. It was strange the things you can notice about someone when you're completely alone with them, the tiny but beautiful things, she thought to herself. Emily stirred quietly and buried her face in Spencer's side, moaning slightly at the burningly bright sun. "Good morning, sleeping beauty." She leaned close to Emily's cheek, whispering softly in her ear, and playfully nudged her.

"Spencer, it's so early, do we have to get up?" Pressing her elbows atop the sheets, Emily threw her head back, rolling her neck in fatigue.

"Em, it's ten o'clock, we have obligations." Her classic Spencer tone crept through, half serious and half calculating math equations in her head, lost in her own head. Glancing down at her friend's peaceful state, the way Emily's arms were gracefully folded over her bedspread, she said the first thing that came to her mind, "As much as I would love to stay in bed and snuggle."

Slightly dumbfounded, Emily avoided eye contact, itching her knee nervously, a tick of hers Spencer knew incredibly well. Yet Spencer saw a shy smirk dance on her face, the tension in the room was immediately lifted. Something stuck in the pit of her stomach though, a unwieldy knot was slowly growing, being Spencer, she played it off in her brain as the fact that she hadn't been active enough in the day. "Also, we have to meet Hanna and Aria at the Brew in about an hour and a half, so you need to get off your little swimmer butt and get in the shower."

As Emily slowly rose from Spencer's incredibly cozy bed, her tenerife blue phone lit up. Her screen illuminated and read, " SOS! Emily, where are you? Turn on the news!" Furrowing her brow skeptically, she questioned and re-read Hanna's text from a few hours ago. "Spence," Emily called out from the closet door, "did you anything from Hanna last night?" Before she could even answer her own question, Spencer darted into the room, she looked like she had just saw the most bone chilling creature of all time, her skin was a ghostly white, and her hands were shaking uncontrollably.

Gulping seemingly a gallon of air, Spencer stammered, "The Brew, it was vandalized last night. Broken into, windows shattered, the whole nine yards. There was a message left on one of the outside walls, it was signed from… from A." Emily's heart nearly burst in that exact moment, the happiness and closure she had thought she found in that moment was completely ruined, A was back. Thinking of it, A had probably never left.


	3. Out Of The Woods

**A/N: Just finished this chapter! The girls meet up to discuss the new A and things don't go as planned, Spemily has a small therapy session and there is an A clue. I wonder who on the show likes Breakfast At Tiffany's? Cece, Aria, Ezra, even Ali. Review and leave who your current suspect is**

"I feel like someone has shot up my veins with hot sauce." Hanna ran her perfectly manicured hands through her honey blonde hair, inhaling and exhaling deeply. Spencer shot her a fiery look, annoyed by her seemingly naive comparison.

"Hot sauce really? Arsenic is more like it, Han. Do you just not get it? A's back, Mona's , how the hell are we supposed to explain to Zach why there was a message from some vandal who goes by a scarlet letter alias?" She stared intently at her double sugared, large cup of hazelnut coffee, as if it would have the answers to the girls predicament. Aria sat perched on the corner stoll in the Apple Rose Grille, her face had lost all color and the once neon pink of her feather earrings seemed dim. Emily, the constant mediator of the group, grasped Hanna's hand in her own, a worried look plastered on her face.

Briskly moving to the chair directly across from Spencer's, Emily tugged the coffee cup from her hand, safely moving the caffeine from her on-edge friend. She knew that if she could help Spencer with anything, it would be with the crippling stress, Emily knew was coming. "Don't think like that, it could all just be a hoax. Practically everyone in this town knows what that Mona monster did to us. She's locked up anyway." The way she said it, it was as if Emily was trying to convince herself of those facts, not Spencer.

"She was locked up last time she started up the game, what's to say that psycho won't go back to her old tricks? I bet Mona's beheading dolls as we speak." Aria spoke up for the first time in that afternoon, a sharpness and sass in her tone. Looking up from her furious salad chewing, Hanna rolled her eyes slightly, Aria always had a knack for making things extra morbid.

"Thanks Aria, you're really little miss sunrays today." She countered, sliding a whole avocado slice around her plate, absentmindedly.

"Hanna, while I enjoy your grade A comebacks, it's little miss sunshine. Like the movie with Abigail Breslin." Spencer corrected Hanna like she always did, unlike Melissa, she rarely used her intelligence as a way to manipulate others, but sometimes with Hanna, it just happened.

"Whatever Spencer, I have some ideas of who could be behind this, if you want to listen." Pleasantly surprised, Spencer and Emily nodded in near unison, something they did quite often. "I've made a list on my phone, it goes in order like this: Cece, Jenna, Noel, and.." Hanna stuttered for a second, a quiver in her voice. "And Alison." The table grew silent as the name of their former ring leader fell from Hanna's apple red lips.

Spencer was the first to object to this seemingly absurd theory, "Han, take a few steps back, you and all of us know that Ali is dead. D-E-A-D, dead as a doornail, the sooner you let go of your insane theories and heartache, the better." With that, the slender brunette stood up and promptly strutted out of the restaurant, leaving her Italian panini cold on her plate. Emily jolted out of her seat to follow Spencer, hoping to calm her down.

Cold, tiny droplets of rain drenched the Main Street as Spencer speed walked through the sidewalk, her white button up blouse getting soaked. "Listen to me, I get that you're stressed but all of us are. You can't just run away everytime Hanna has a crazy theory, we're a team and we have to stick together. Look, do you think I believe Ali is alive?" Hearing those three words, she turned her damp head of dark curls toward Emily.

"Really Em? To be completely honest, sometimes I doubt that. I'm always afraid that the facts are right in front of me, but I'm too blinded by the overtly obvious things." Her hands sat firmly on her denim covered hips, as white hot lightning crackled overhead.

"Your weakness is your inability to see what has been there the whole time Spence, we all get that." Emily felt a sudden rush of heat to ears and cheeks, but now was not the time to be questioning her emotions, so she let it go. "I have weaknesses, Hanna does, Aria does. But if anyone can solve this, it's you." Spencer made her way toward Emily, the corners of her lips were turned up, the tiniest clue of happiness.

"I should just start calling you Dr. Emily now, huh?" She looped her sopping wet arm through Emily's, leading her back toward the Grille. "All you need is a mustache and your own talk show."

As Emily opened her mouth to respond, Spencer had an A related lightbulb in her brain. "What do Cece Drake, Mona, and Ali's family all have in common?" In that moment, she knew that Emily was thinking the same thing as her.

"Radley!" They both shouted, that was one of the many reasons they were best friends.

"You know what we have to do." Spencer cryptically told Emily, as words and thoughts of lock picking swam through her head…

The poetic words of Truman Capote played from a rickety old tape as a black hooded person sewed away rigorously, the thread wobbling at the end of the needle. They were constructing a plush rag doll, its sewn on silky black hair and signature forehead crease shown in the lamp light. Next to this horrid thing were three more ragdolls, all different yet frighteningly similar. One was lean with a miniature black hoodie on and piercing blue buttons for eyes, he had a metallic hammer in his left hand. To the left, was a smaller female doll with a broad frame and blunt bangs, she wore a Rosewood Sharks jacket, in teal of course. The most detailed doll was the last one, he had a custom made plaid vest on, with a well put together nest of dark hair, he held a page from "Lolita" in his pale hand. As the figure admired these dolls, they plunged intensely sharp needles into the girl, the carpenter doll, and of course, the one with the long hair. Yet they put aside the plaid clad one, they were saving it for later...


	4. All I Ever Wanted

The gates of Radley were dark and gnarled, just like the place itself. Emily lead the way as Spencer and Aria followed tentatively behind her, Radley Sanitarium was not a place that was enjoyable for them. "Spencer, if you don't want to this, you don't have to. Aria and I have the script down pat, just ask Mona what we need and get the hell out." Her chocolate orbs of eyes bored into Spencer's soul, softening at the edges, her sensitive soul was definitely showing through.

"I'm doing this, we need answers and Mona's the only way we're going to get them. Radley just happens to be the setting that she's in." She delivered her words stoically, not a tad of sadness or even emotion behind her steely response. Emily saw right through her wall of strength, she noticed the tiny cracks in Spencer's facade, the tiny wrinkles around the center of her eyebrows. She squeezed Spencer's skinny arm tenderly, stroking the fabric of her forest, green jacket. The dark haired, slowly trembling girl felt warm feeling raise from her chest to her arms, calming her down immediately.

"You got this Spence, we're both here as your good cop and bad cop bodyguards. I'm obviously the good cop, sorry Em." Aria, her chestnut hair was windswept into a bun atop her tiny head. They tried their best to look somber as they waltzed through the polarizing white entry hall. Nurses in 1950's style white and red uniforms marched through the corridors, patients let out mangled and pained screams from the recreation room. Emily cringed as she saw thrashing, wheelchair bound people being taken into locked rooms against their wills. An attractive, African American man in a crisp, cream shirt approached the girls, his eyes glued to Spencer.

"Eddie, oh god, it's so good to see you." She called out, relief rippling through her veins. They embraced for a short second, but Eddie's face remained blank, almost sad. "How's everything been here, especially the Mona situation?" Emily slightly scoffed, Spencer was never one for even a second of small talk. He clenched his fists together, and Eddie looked over his shoulder, observing his surroundings.

"Can we talk about this in the staff lounge, away from the prying eyes of you know who?" He gave her a knowing glance and discreetly walked into the next room, what the girls assumed was the staff lounge, as all of them began to go inside, Spencer stopped them with her hands in the air.

"We need to cover as much as we can. I talk to Eddie, while you guys tackle the human Rubix cube that is Mona Vanderwaal." Shooting Emily a pointed look, she knew what had to be done, splitting up was the right thing to do.

"Let's go then, this place gives me the shivers, and not in a cute Ezra way." With that, Aria and Emily were off and Spencer went into the lounge, nearly salivating for answers. The room was incredibly bland, which wasn't a shock, there was a corner mahogany table with a microwave and coffee machine, and colonies of tiny olive colored tables. She pulled out a chair as she sat directly across from Eddie, folding her hands neatly in her lap.

"How has Mona been lately? Any outbursts or things I should know about?" Spencer probed him, knowing that other than visiting her, this was their only option for answers about the current A situation.

"You know this is breaching patient confidentiality, I'm not like your little British friend, . I have to tell you though, I think it's another facade from Mona, one day she's excitedly and sanely describing a book. The next, she's screaming about a Cradle Robber and Pigskin." Although she was the true queen at solving riddles and puzzles, the first example Eddy said confused her, but when he said the words Pigskin, her heart broke. That was Ali's horrible nickname for Paige, just hearing Mona say it would crush Emily. In Spencer's own mind, Paige had never really deserved Em, she had tried to drown her, and anyone who wanted to be with Emily shouldn't lay a finger on her.

"Did she go into any detail? Any specifics?" She wondered aloud.

"Not really. Just the usual muttering which leads to screaming, of course. She likes to play our version of Scrabble, she's a great mind. Thats what's scary about Mona." Eddie shook his head, almost in a state of disbelief.

"Eddie, you have no idea how grateful I am for you being here right now. I also never got to thank you for everything you did for me at Radley, if it wasn't for you, I don't know how I would've made it through." A sincere smile painted Spencer's face as she squeezed one of his dark knuckles. As she made her way out of the increasingly painful chair, Eddie stopped her.

"I was in love with someone once. She was a nurse here, absolutely beautiful and possibly the perkiest person I'd ever met." He paused, a flicker of unmistakable affection in his eyes.

"Something happened to her though… She ended up in this dungeon of a place, it was an obvious misdiagnosis, but I visited her every day, no matter what. The roof, that night…" Tears welled up in the corners of his eyes, his face was strained and serious. Spencer had a virtual light bulb go off in her head, he was talking about… about Marion Cavanaugh. The mother of her first love, the unsolvable puzzle that was the way she died…

"Eddie, is she Marion Cavanaugh? The girl who was on the roof with the fragile patient?" She was like a rabid animal who hadn't slept in days, needing facts desperately. This question obviously set Eddie off, he pushed the table away from him, and crossed his arms.

"Look, I'm sorry," she tried to backtrack but there was no stopping Eddie from leaving, the door slammed intensely as he was on his way out. Spencer speedily texted Emily and Aria, her fingers stabbing the buttons like mad, "SOS."

Back in the winding corridors of Radley, Aria and Emily fiercely marched down to Mona's room number, 203. Aria stomped down, clearly leading the way as Emily hung in the back. "How do you know where we are? Are you an eternal tour guide?" She asked the shorter girl, her black and white checkered shirt shifting in the air. Aria looked like she had just smelled the most putrid scent, and looked back at Emily.

"You could say I have a photographic memory from our dark Spencer visits." While Emily tried to craft a response, they were at Mona's dreaded room. The door was sealed tightly at the edges, and a privacy sign was taped to the window in the doorway. "We're going for it Em, if you can't, I'll go in first." She clenched Emily's hand, giving her a smile of courage.

Nodding, Emily replied, "no, we're doing this together." They cracked the door open and Mona was prostrate on her hospital bed, her eyes wild and face gleaming with sweat. This was the first time they'd seen Mona in months and it had definitely taken a toll on her. The room washed out her once queen bee style features, her nails were bloody and bitten down to the beds. Her dark, formerly well coiffed hair was an unbrushed mess, not a stitch of makeup was on her face. "Hello Mona." Emily deadpanned, staring at Mona like she causing forest fires in her mind.

"Hello miss mermaid, I see Suzy is with you." Mona was polite and cold, like always. "What brings you here to visit, Hanna hasn't visited in ages. How is she by the way, still keeping those carbs down? I know how she gets when Caleb leaves, he is always leaving, I wonder why." Rage swallowed the normally calm Emily's soul, no one hurt her Hanna, especially Mona.

"Don't act like you don't know why. We know what's actually going on and whoever you've hired-" Before she could finish her rant, Aria cut in.

"Who's your A now, Mona? Who's your little minion now, Noel or better yet, Lucas?" Aria accused, taking no prisoners. "We know you never stopped being the puppet master, but now you have to cut the strings."

Smirking, Mona replied, "honey, a good puppet master makes sure that no one ever see's the strings, that would make them realize it's not real. To make the audience trust them, to believe in what may seem impossible, puppets need to have strings, or else there wouldn't be any fun." Chilled to the bone, she took a step away from the rickety Radley bed.

Leaning into Aria's double pierced ear, Emily fearfully whispered, "we need to go, I just got an SOS from Spence, about Eddie." The other girl nodded and backed away slowly.

" Make sure to tell Mr. Fitz I say hi, and Emily, I have a message for you." Mona mumbled under her breath, " Say hello to Girl Crush, for my sake." She looked around her, but no one was in the room but Emily and Mona, Aria was too afraid to step into the room again. _Does she mean Spencer? Emily thought to herself, but then immediately regretted it. She didn't even have a crush on Spencer, and she had been done with the straight girl crushes ever since Ali. Why was she blushing then? _

"I hope I never have to be here again, bye Mona." Emily stormed out of the tiny room, right into a panicked Aria in the hall.

"What was that about, Em? I'm sorry but I couldn't stand it there for another second." Suddenly Spencer was at their side, her mouth running a mile a minute.

"Eddie and Marion, they were together, he knows who she was on the roof with, I know it." She grabbed Emily's forearm, feeling the her pulse race.

"Toby's mom? Oh my god, how did you find this all out?" Emily asked, her excitement was rising, Toby despite all his wrongdoings, he was one of her best friends and no matter what, what happened to his mom mattered to her..

"Can we talk about this more tomorrow? Maybe tonight, this is too much in one day." Aria's bottom lip quivered, she was obviously going to crawl out of her skin if she was there any longer.

That night, Hanna, Emily, and Spencer were sitting around on the navy kitchen island, discussing the events of the day. "Eddie and Mrs.C huh? Was everyone in Radley taking bang, bang pills?" Spencer broke into a giggle, Hanna's vocabulary always stunned her.

Like a rude spring awakening, all the girl's phones rung in synchronization, Emily and Spencer knew that ring the instant they heard it: A. Hanna, voice cracking read it aloud..

"Little Miss Mona, sat in Radley, playing Scrabble all day, when along came four liars, who sat down beside her, and Little Miss Mona was dead…"

Someone was skulking through the halls of Radley, Eddie Lamb knew an intruder when he heard one. The night shift had always been relatively quiet these days, as long as wasn't allowing outsiders in. Following the source of the noise, he spotted someone, hard to identify as a male or female, in a black hoodie. He grabbed at their shoulders, attempting to stop them from hurting any patients. As he did this, the figure dove for his leg, injecting his thigh painfully with a syringe. His leg was on fire as his vision became blurry, but he caught a glimpse of his attacker before going out cold, oh he knew this person alright, if only he could've told Spencer the truth when he had the chance...


	5. Georgia

Stumbling into the dimly lit kitchen, Emily and Hanna had been rudely awoken by the sound of shattered glass. When the sound reached Emily's ears, she turned over on the couch, desperately wanting Spencer's warm, peaceful body to be next to her, but it wasn't. "Spence! Are you awake yet?" She bellowed in the living room of the Hastings household, Hanna following suit next to her. Her blonde bed head was bopping around, Emily noticed the goosebumps on her bare arms, although Ali had always called her the sweet one, Hanna was really the kind one of all the girls.

"C'mon Spencer, you've already woken us up, no going back now." Hanna walked into the pitch black kitchen and shrieked in terror. Spencer was curled up on the floor, a fruit bowl in pieces at her feet. She rocked back and forth, tears spilling out of the corners of her eyes. The moment Emily had seen her best friend on the ground, it was like that was herself, sobbing on the floor. Emily rushed to Spencer's side, wrapping her sweater around the crying girls arms.

"It's Eddie.. he-" Emily shooshed Spencer, cradling her head in her hands. Hanna tried to speak but she shot her a soft but telling look that said, "no."

"You don't have to tell me anything Spence, yet. He really was there for you, even when we weren't. Silence is ok, words will just complicate everything." As soon as Spencer took another breath, Emily stepped back and lead Hanna into the hall. "Han, go get Aria and go to my house, ok. Just wait for Spencer and I to get there, I'll try to get some information about what happened to Eddie, but I probably won't. Aria must know something, she was with us too."

"I would tell you to protect her, Em, but I know no matter what you will. You love her more than all of us combined, and you know it. Call me when you get the chance, but if you can't, I'll be watching Aria." Hanna, barely holding back tears, turned away to pick up her stuff. Emily returned to Spencer's side, flipping the light on.

"It's just us now Spence, like it almost always is. Did you have any breakfast yet, I could make you a swanky french omelette like they have at the club." To others, even Aria &amp; Hanna, they would think that Emily was putting on a front, but there were no fronts with Spencer.

"I'm good, right now I'd much rather swallow a quart of extremely sharpened nails. Not french manicure, straight up razor edged nails." Letting out a meek chuckle, Emily smiled, Spencer needed to laugh today. Feeling the nervous tension in the room lift, she slid a glass of orange juice near her on the floor.

"You, Hastings need to sit up and get hydrated. You can't investigate on a weak immune system, or do anything for that matter. Now, drink up." Spencer timidly sipped on the juice, but her thirst took over and she gulped the whole glass down. Her face grew sullen and Spencer pressed her lips together pertly, clearing her throat.

"I'm sorry Em." Spencer tilted her head to the side, placing most of her weight onto the kitchen table, she had just recently gotten up from her depressed sitting state.

Baffled, Emily inquired "for what? You have nothing to apologize for."

"You've been here for me through all of this, through Radley and Toby, the A team and this now. I've been a terrible friend compared to you, when Maya died, instead of caring about how you were doing, I was obsessed with what happened at grave. I should've realized that you needed me, because I need you more." As Spencer continued, Emily felt a light and gentle flutter in her stomach. When Spencer said that she needed her, it was like a tiny brush was painting her chest. "I want you to know, that whenever you have to talk about anything, from Paige to your new favorite Real Housewife, I'm here. No matter what, you don't even have to knock, you have your own key." She made her way over to Emily's side of the table, delicately pushing Emily's stray hairs behind her ears. Spencer placed her forehead against the swimmer's, feeling an odd tingly sensation heating up from her neck to her cheeks, _butterflies of course not, Spencer Hastings didn't get the butterflies, especially for her best friend and she was straight. She considered these feelings but let them go. _Seeing the red in Emily's rosy cheeks, she stepped back.

"Wow.. I don't think I'm deserving of that monologue. I have my key in my back pocket if you ever need it, by the way." She had her signature Fields smile painted on her face, semi-innocent and semi-flirtatious. Their eyes locked for what seemed like an eternity, but no one moved a muscle.

When you've been best friends with someone for a majority of your life, you're comfortable that way. You become used to your sleepover routines, inside jokes, and when you're like Spencer and Emily, banding together to stop A. During all this time, that comfortability changes, a spark of a new feeling floats into the air. In those moments, you have to make a decision: to take a chance or to stay in the comfortable zone...

A loud knock interrupted the tension filled moment, and Spencer and Emily's eyes focused on the back door. Shockingly, Hanna and Aria stood in the doorway, their eyes vacant, but it was who was next to them that was truly jaw dropping. Toby Cavanaugh, Spencer's first love, the man who had betrayed her, Emily's former best friend. What could he possibly want?

Earlier that morning, someone sat in a vacant bar, swirling a concoction of vodka and lime in their gloved hands. On the cheap television in the right corner, the news blared loudly. The tiny anchor was sullen as she discussed the news breaking overnight at Radley, Eddie Lamb had been murdered while on the job. Detective Holbrook was currently holding a press conference, he stated the obvious, that this would be vigorously investigated and that there were no current suspects. "Need another straw?" The greasy bartender asked, and the hooded person nodded. The plan was getting set in motion..


	6. My Heart Is Open

**A/N: Hey my amazing reader! It's Callie and I hope you're enjoying the story as much as I am. In this chapter, Toby makes a legendary return and drops a huge shock about his new girlfriend, Hanna figures the Spemily situation, and A continues to be creepy as ever. Review and favorite, of course. I have a question for next chapter: Would you rather have a half Hanna/Aria POV chapter, or half Hanna/Emily POV chapter? Tell me in your reviews**

"Toby…" Spencer's mouth was nearly unhinged, her eyes were bulging out of her face. Emily had the opposite reaction, gleefully running to the door and pulling it open, Toby engulfed her in a friendly embrace. All this time, their relationship had strengthened, Toby was the one who had helped Emily navigate her way out of the closet.

"Hey Spencer," his eyes were soft, no matter what, he would always have a spot in his heart for Spencer. Toby made himself at home on the cream couch he was so familiar with, tapping his calf nervously. "So, you found something out at Radley… About my mom."

Adjusting herself at Toby's side, Emily patted his knee and nodded at Hanna and Aria knowingly. "Spencer talked to Eddie Lamb yesterday, and he told her a few things. A lot of things actually. Your mom and Eddie, they were.." She fumbled but tried to continue talking, but Hanna took the conversational lead.

"Your mom and Eddie Lamb had an affair, sorry to drop this on you now." Toby's face portrayed an amount of concealed shock, his cerulean blue eyes becoming glossy with tears. He furiously wiped at them as they fell onto his pale, shaky cheeks.

"What else did he have to say? Did he know about her condition, or why she was on the roof that night" Emily, in an almost motherly fashion, handed him a glass of water.

"He didn't have much to say, he was very scared when I figured it out. Then, I woke up this morning and turned on the news.. he was dead." For the first time that morning, Spencer seemed to be back to her old self, brainy and strong. She anxiously stood at the end of the couch, about to probe Toby. "I know this is a lot to process, but was your mom close to anyone else?"

"There was one therapist that see saw on a pretty regular basis. I think her first name was Anne, but she got divorced, so I don't know her name." Aria's eye grew large, like two pools of mahogany colored rain water, just sitting, waiting to spill over.

She muttered stunned, "You mean Sullivan, like our old therapist? The one who got caught in the A game?" Hanna and Emily shook their heads in disbelief, and Spencer just stood there in front of the room, processing it all.

"Why couldn't you have told me this before, Toby? I explicitly told you everything when I went to , and you knew this all along. What kind of person are you?" She stammered, her hands shaking violently at her sides. "Oh, I know exactly what kind of person you are. You're the type of person who joins a team of criminals to "protect" your girlfriend." Spencer, feeling the adrenaline pump through her veins, perched herself on the bottom of the fireplace, legs rolling back and forth.

"You know what Spencer? You asked me to come in here, and if it wasn't for you bribing me with news about my mom, I'd never have set foot in this place again and honestly, wouldn't of cared. Now, I regret ever coming here." Toby, his face full of stone cold fury, stormed out and violently slammed the back door. Emily shot Spencer a look that said "did you really just make someone storm out, _again" _and being a true Fields, followed Toby outside.

The infamous Hastings backyard, rebuilt barn and all, seemed to glow in the midsummer sun. Emily gripped Toby's goosebump covered arm. "Toby, wait. Spencer is just still dealing with what happened to Eddie, she's never that rude when she's herself."n

"Really? I took it like she still resents me for something I did, ages ago. All I wanted to do is help her and you guys, she was my first, soul crushing love." Toby kicked at the ground, heart broken and frustrated. "I tried, but I guess it didn't work. I have my eyes on someone though." Emily wiggled her eyebrows, excited that Toby had finally met someone.

"What's her name?" She stood with her neck crooked, prepared to hear a name like Bridget Wu or Sidney Driscoll, but the name that came out of his mouth left her jaw hanging on the grass.

"Melissa. Melissa Hastings. We met when I was in London, spying on her. Things just happened, and now, I'm moving there this summer. You can't tell Spencer, she would never forgive me." Irate, Emily turned away, her face a portrait of absolute disgust.

"Toby, do you not get it?! Do you understand the degree of hell she put Spencer and all of us through? She nearly murdered Aria!" Emily screamed, her hands flailing in the air, animatedly.

"The Aria situation isn't what you think it is, ok, Melissa explained it all to me. Of course, it all leads back to Spencer. You never shock me Emily Fields." He was smiling, the opposite of Emily's reaction, his arms crossed in amusement. "I'm glad she has someone like you, she needs it. If you get anything new about my mom, text me. I have to go." Toby Cavanaugh, the enigma that he was, sauntered away, without a care in the world.

As the afternoon morphed into night, Hanna and Spencer were on a tried and true stakeout, a so called hobby of theirs. They were lame ducks in 's parking lot, waiting for their former, increasingly shady doctor to come out. Hanna, the wannabe detective that she was, snapped her gum loudly. "How are you feeling, Spence? I know things must be all jumbled ever since your hot, ex-carpenter babe stopped by this morning."

Smirking, Spencer replied,"Trust me, Toby is the last of my concerns. Marion on the other hand, is all that's on my mind. That and many other things, of course." Hanna pushed her head to the back of the leather seats, her mind obviously thinking of something possibly inappropriate.

"Is Emily one of those things?" Spencer's heart pounded under her striped, red and white sweater, the insides of her palms were coated with sweat. Her friendship with Emily was so perfect, and solid, like the foundation of a house. Yet, like any house in California, that strong foundation had shifted, and became something more. Something Spencer was afraid to say aloud, because if she did, it would change everything. "Spencer, when Toby, Aria, and I were at your house, I saw something, ok. You guys were standing next to each other, and I saw the way you looked at her, the way I look at Caleb." Hanna in these moments, was smarter than Spencer, she saw things about people that others didn't.

"This isn't something I necessarily want to talk about right now. She's Em, it just can't happen. According to her and everyone else in this town, I'm straight." Flustered, Spencer began to trifle through Aria's glove compartment, when she came upon something mind blowing. A black and white photo of Cece Drake, clad in an ink colored sweatshirt. Hanna gasped loudly, which was matched by Spencer's. In the picture, Cece was staring directly into the camera, like she was taunting the girls. All they saw was her face, framed by honey blonde locks, and a black hood covering the majority of her hair. Typed in meticulous typewriter font, there was a message neatly written: This is just the prologue to the end of your story, bitches- kisses A…

"Get away from me!" A petrified Cece Drake thrashed in her hard, iron chair in an abandoned cafe in the backwoods of Rosewood. Her hands were bound tightly with cables, and high heeled feet were ziptied. She shook her head belligerently, not shedding a tear, but obviously feeling scared. Someone, with an unusual stature, walked up to the kidnapped women, wearing a dark hoodie eerily similar to the one Cece had on.

"All I needed was that picture, you know. The girls will be on your trail now, not mine of course. Like they would ever even entertain the idea of me being anything but innocent. They don't know a thing." The person gently untied the zip ties and stepped away, "you didn't even see me coming, did you? Miss Cece Drake, cop killer, Ali's best friend, oh I forgot to mention a murderer of your own sister…"


	7. I Do

The windows of the new and not so improved Brew felt suffocating as Hanna fretfully drank her soy latte. From across the table, she heard Spencer and Aria quietly debating the massive Cece Drake issue at hand. "It's just too obvious, I mean if A is Cece, I don't think she would out right show us. She's smarter than that." Spencer was obviously hashing out the details in her mind, while Aria wanted to believe what was in front of them. Hanna was constantly being underestimated by everyone, Spencer, her mom, everyone but Caleb, it was like none of them could see under the Legally Blonde facade that she put out. It was a survival instinct Mona had taught her when they were queen bees, no one will challenge you if they think you're dumb.

"Maybe that's what been wrong with us this whole time. We fail to see the obvious, Spence for someone so smart, you often get caught in the tiny details other than seeing the big picture." Aria looked visibly shaken yet determined, and Hanna appreciated that she wasn't giving her usual "I'm fantasizing about Ezra and our novels" look. Aria's selfishness and lack of concern for all this A business had always bothered her, but Hanna knew that this wasn't the time to bring it up. In sauntered an out of breath Emily, with a determined look in her brown eyes. She hastily yanked a chair to the girl's table and threw her canvas bag down. As Emily sat, Hanna noticed how her eyes flitted to Spencer's, if only for a brief moment.

Hanna wasn't lying when she told Spencer that she looked at Emily, the same way Caleb looked at her. It was a look of pure joy and affection, although it was fleeting. Hanna had tried not to pry in her friends personal lives, but couldn't help it. Whatever Spencer and Emily had going on, which was probably nothing, Hanna didn't want to get involved in. "You're never going to believe who I saw outside of here." This snapped her back into the conversation, everyone's eyes were fixated on Emily and what she would say next. "Jenna and Paige. Together."

Spencer held the back of Aria's chair fiercely, feeling Emily's pain. "Like lady loving together? Or A team planning together?" The dark haired brainiac asked, a year ago it would've been crazy to think of Paige being on the A team, but this was now.

"Lady loving, really Spence? I think it was a mixture of both." Hanna replied, _people think she's the dumb one. _Aria seemed in her own world as she gazed at her phone, her face looked like a picture of confusion and exhaustion.

"Guys, I think I have a way to get to the bottom of what's happening with Cece.."

**Aria's POV**

As she said that, Aria became anxious with dread and worry, what if the girls questioned why she had the information, or more importantly, where she got it? Hanna was the first to pipe up with excitement, "what do you have, PI Montgomery?"

"Well, from the looks of it, Cece's apartment keys." Emily and Spencer smirked, impressed by Aria's detective prowess.

"What do you mean? Did you go all Mona and steal them?" Hanna sipped quickly on her latte, questioningly. Aria's eyebrows twitched, she was afraid of the girls possible judgement.

"Um..Well, Jason gave them to me. When he came back, we had a long talk and I told him about what we thought was going on with Cece. He understood and here I am, with her apartment keys." Aria held the metallic gold keys out for everyone to see, her heart pounding.

"So, did you and Jason just talk?" Hanna wiggled her eyebrows, and Aria rolled her eyes at what she was alluding to.

"Yes, it's not like that, Han. Now, are we going to go, or just gossip?" Emily and Aria stood up, Spencer and Hanna close behind.

Aria had always considered Cece Drake to be strangely classy, almost legendary. To this day, there were still whispers about her at Rosewood High. So, when the girls and her arrived at Cece's apartment, Aria was shocked. The whole place looked as if it had been turned on its head, her silver, chandelier like lamps were strewn on the ground and her drawers were ransacked. Pastel colored camisoles and stories high stilettos were thrown every which way.

"Did Bigfoot or A come stomping through here, it's hard to tell," Spencer carefully stepped over the piles of trashed clothes, observing the minor details of this seemingly trashed apartment.

"Or Cece just wanted to make it look that way. I think you guys should take a look at this." In Emily's hands, was a manilla envelope labeled " , Radley." Aria was the first to rush to it, excitedly ripping the front cover open and diving into the medical print. While she was wrapped up in that, Spencer and Hanna wandered over into Cece's bedroom. It had the same destroyed quality of the rest of the place, except for the peculiar book sitting on the bed.

"Is that the dictionary?" Hanna sneared, her upper lip curling. Spencer kneeled on the dirtied bedspread, cracking open the pages. Her eyes widened, and she turned to the smaller blonde.

"Han, this isn't a book. It's an A log." Hanna made her way to Spencer's side, glancing over her shoulder, into the crisp white pages. Instead of literary writing, they were records of all of Cece Drake's monetary transactions in the past year. Half of them were deposits to Melissa Hastings and Jason DiLaurentis, with some of those also going to Wren Kingston. The most shocking transaction of all, though, was who Cece was receiving checks from. In tiny, black letters, Spencer and Hanna saw who was possibly running the whole show: Ezra Fitz. Cece had received 18 payments from one Ezra C. Fitzgerald in the last year. Hanna stared at Spencer with her crystal blue eyes wide, Spencer was in the same state of shock and awe. "Do you still have the A note, I think I get it." She handed Spencer the black and white photo, and the brunette's eyes lit up. "This typewriter font, 37 Sans Serif. The only person I know who owns a typewriter like that, is.." As she said that, Aria and Emily burst through the door.

"Sorry to interrupt, but we found something. I don't this Radley file is Cece's…"


	8. No Light, No Light

**A/N/: Hola guys! I worked extra hard on this chapter, so I hope you review and enjoy. This chapter, a new A suspect is discovered, Hanna continues to be the biggest Spemily shipper, and there is a possible kiss. I have a question for you guys, I'm going to reveal A to the readers first, and then the girls in later chapters. So, do you want to know in 1 or 2 chapters? Tell me in the comments. Bye!**

"So, what does all of this mean? Who the heck is Courtney Drake?" Aria said sharply, her eyes looked tinged with weariness. Everything A or A team related exhausted her to no end. The clock read four o'seven but it felt like midnight already.

"From the looks of it, Cece's sister. Or should I say, another devil's spawn." Spencer spouted. There was another Cece Drake running around, at least that could explain her slightly manic behavior. "According to this file, Courtney Drake lived in Radley for four years, and had only been treated by one doctor, the Brit who never leaves, Wren Kingston." Emily rolled her eyes as Spencer said that, that guy was obviously in some deep A stuff.

"To think both of us feel for his sweet, British lips." Hanna lamented, resting against the dark bed post.

"Can we go to my house and do this, I'm exhausted." Aria stood, her tiny frame slightly shaking. Hanna rose, her teeth nibbling on her bubblegum pink lips. As Emily began to stand, Spencer put a hand on her arm, her eyes saying _stick around. _

"Em and I will catch up in a few minutes." Confused as the blonde and brunette left the room, Emily crouched by her friends side.

"What is it, Spence?" She wondered, still skimming over the pages, there was still nothing of interest in this file. Just puzzlings medical jargon like "flight risk" and "level four confinement".

"It's Ezra, we have to do something. There's no vanilla, non nefarious reason that he's paying Cece any kind of money." Emily bobbed her head in agreement.

"Well then, let's get to the bottom of it. We need to go to the source, if Aria and Hanna wonder where we are, we'll just say we went to lunch." Caught in the moment, she winked at Spencer, realizing exactly what she was doing. The other girl's eyes darted down, and her cheeks grew dark.

Shaking her head, Spencer began to walk out of the mess of a room, and glanced back at Emily. "Less time for flirting, more time for breaking and entering in Rosewood High."

The halls of Rosewood High felt peculiar, as Emily and Spencer raced to 's classroom. Everything was empty and lonely, not even Harold the scary janitor was there. Spencer was secretly thankful for that. "Room 203, here we are." They anxiously stood at their now very sketchy English teachers door, Emily jiggled the knob in her hand. "Do you think you can work your Hastings lockpicking magic?"

"That's not even a question." In the blink of an eye, Spencer had jammed a skinny, glimmering paper clip into the golden knob, and had it turning. "Never doubt the things I can do when bored, and surrounded by school supplies." Ezra, or , had a very organized and unnaturally clean classroom. All the bland desks were lined up in rows of three, his chalkboard, as outdated as it was, was sparkling in the sun.

"So we're just looking for anything that could incriminate Fitz, pay stubs, creepy letters, the whole nine." Spencer knew that Ezra, the rich to rags boy that he was, didn't have anything hidden in plain sight. Emily yanked on the drawers of his desk, yet all they were filled with pens and loose sheets of paper. She held one of the pens in her tan palm, examining the small, white lettering.

"Did you ever think that it was weird that Ezra is allegedly a Fitzgerald, and he only had enough money to go to Hollis?" She crinkled her nose, feeling her stomach churn. Since Spencer hadn't answered, Emily looked behind her and saw the amazing sight of her friend pounded a filing cabinet with her bony shoulders. "Do you need help with that?" She marched over to the dusty filing cabinet, and gently pushed Spencer to the side. The olive haired girl took off her black, high heel and mercilessly attacked the metal cupboard. After just three whacks, it burst open. Files with many of their classmates names were laying on the floor, essays and medical records were everywhere. Yet Emily spotted something unusual in the wreckage, a hardcover, very feminine purple notebook. She clutched it in her hands, a familiar ache in her chest, it was Alison's.

"Em, is that what I think.. what I think it could be?" Like a robin trying desperately not to shatter the glass window of a vulnerable house, she made her way to her shaking friend. "Why would he have this?" Spencer cradled Emily's shoulders in her hands, and took the notebook into her own hands. Suddenly, the bone chilling sound of a gunshot rang out loudly, and they both flinched in fear. A pounding filled the hallway outside, and Emily caught a glance of thick, black combat boots.

"Spence, run! Go to the window, or any other door in this place." Gripping the journal in her hands, she and Spencer dashed to the high windowsill. Emily slammed the lock on the bottom of the window, while Spencer tried to pry it open. The footsteps got closer, and much heavier. "C'mon, open!" The lock just wasn't working, so in a fit of absolute terror, Emily grabbed one of the small desk chairs and threw it against the window. Glass shattering in its wake, Spencer pushed her head through the now broken glass, it was about a five foot jump.

"Em, you go first, just to be safe. Take the diary with you." Yet the girl holding the lavender journal shook her head, if anyone could fight off A the best, it'd be her.

"No, you go. I'll go right after you and take what we need." Emily knew Spencer wouldn't willing go first, so she gently nudged her halfway out of the window. Taking a deep breath, Spencer lowered herself at least partly through the window, her legs dangling precariously. Looking back at a shivering Emily, Spencer jumped. Spring air filled her lungs as her body crumpled onto an island of patchy grass. Her arms and chest burned as she rolled onto her back, as Spencer gave her friend a weak thumbs up. The moment that happened, Emily propelled herself out as well, yet masterfully landing on her knees. In her jacket pocket, was Ali's journal. "We need to go." In a few moments, both of the girls were in Spencer's car, furiously pulling away.

"So you guys went genuinely James Bond on that window, I have to applaud." Caleb remarked, wrapping his arms around Hanna's shoulders. The girls always appreciated how he was always there for their friend, she out of all of them, had found someone worth sticking around.

"Yep, it was all Emily though. She busted through that window like it was nothing." Spencer remarked, resting her head on the other girl's shoulder. Emily smirked back at Spencer, feeling her stomach tingle.

"Sorry to interrupt all this happiness, but we're going to have to break the news to Aria that is actually A." Hanna cringed as she said this, her eyes nervously staring at the door, waiting for Aria's arrival.

"Let's wait for her in the living room, I think it'd be easier to not have her be all shiny and positive when we break it to her. " Caleb and Hanna left the room, hand in hand. Spencer felt a pang of some unknown feeling in her chest as this happened, if only she was able to do that with the person she loved.

"Em, can I ask you a serious question?" Her heart was pounding like a belligerent thunderstorm as she asked this.

"Of course." Emily's eyes were stoic, and full of concern.

"What would have happened yesterday if Toby and Hanna hadn't showed up?" Spencer rested her head on her knuckle, looking pensively at Emily, in fear of the response.

"Well, I probably would of held your hand like this," she reached for her friend's hand, rubbing tiny circles on it. "Then I would of stared at you, at all your vulnerability and beauty, like always, and.. I would of kissed you." Emily's breath hitched as she pressed her forehead to Spencer's, cupping her cheek. They looked at each other with kind eyes, and Emily made the first real move. She moved inches from the intelligent girls face, their noses lightly touching. Spencer licked her lips in nervous anticipation, her palms sweating. Like magic, the swimmers lips brushed against her's, and just as something real was about to transpire, Hanna and Caleb came racing in.

"Guys, Aria has arrived," Hanna said at first before she caught a glance of her friends, in a not so friendly position. She blushed and looked up again, "sorry, this is kind of an emergency." Emily, face flushed, stood up awkwardly and brushed her hands on her jeans, waltzing into the living room. Spencer, in a slight state of shock, was slower to get up, and as she walked, Hanna stopped her. "Was that what I thought it was?" Spencer shook her head, she definitely thought it was, but didn't want the blonde getting any ideas. Aria sat casually on the couch, her electric pink and black silk blouse wrinkled at her odd sitting stance.

"Are we having another "Cece is A" meeting, because if we are, I think I'll need a refreshment to sit through all the twists and turns." The oblivious girl was acting lighthearted and playful, she had no idea of the news to come.

"Aria, there's no easy way to say this, we-" Emily calmly stated, before Hanna's blunt interruption.

"We think Ezra's A…"

Truthfully, things couldn't have been going better in A's twisted mind. The girls had been led down the wrong path, for the hundredth time. Ezra was just a rich boy pretending to be poor who'd fallen in love in not one, but two not so innocent teenager girls. Cece couldn't be A either, for the shock of the double life her twin had led was taking too much of an emotional toll for her manipulative soul to handle. The true A, as they framed a black and white photo they had taken of Spencer and Emily frightfully leaving the classroom and another of a young Alison playing hide and seek with Hanna, would shake everyone to their core. Uber A, was there from the beginning, yet for obvious reasons, would never be suspected...


	9. All I Want

**A/N: Hey everyone! This is the penultimate chapter, there is a kiss, a fight, and an A reveal! Review and favorite! :)**

When disaster strikes, it hits in slow motion. You don't realize what's going on around you, time stops. Aria Montgomery looked as though an earthquake was destroying the world around. Her large, round eyes seemed to bulge out of their sockets, and her mouth was wide open. "Spencer, you have to be wrong. You guys always like to jump on theories, without knowing anything. You have to be wrong." She shook her head in blatant disbelief.

"Aria, I get it, you have no reason to suspect that Ezra is anything but a nice guy. We have proof though, he's been giving Cece Drake checks, huge checks. More than that, he had Ali's journal in his work desk." Spencer walked to Aria's side, she looked down at her shoes, refusing to even look in the other girl's direction. When the tall girl attempted to put her hand on Aria's shoulder, she shook her off, coldly.

Annoyed, Hanna stood up, her arms tightly crossed. "I know how hard this is for you to hear, but you don't have to shut down to us. This news is shocking to all of us." Her leopard blazer was on the back of the kitchen chair, the blonde began to pace.

"If you need time to process this, I get it, but involve us in it. Don't shut us out, we get what we're going through. We've all had people involved in this, I had Paige, Spence had Toby, and Hanna had Mona." Emily's eyes were so full of love and compassion, it was like she was Aria in that moment.

"I need to go get some air," Aria got up from the chair and cracked open the door, "don't you dare follow me." The door slamming behind her. Caleb came out from behind the stairwell, a stunned expression painted his face.

"That didn't go the way I expected it to, it's not your fault, Han. That's alot to take in at once." He took her hand, and rubbed circles on it, calming the clearly stresses girl.

"I'm gonna go, and take the diary with me. There is lots to be learned." Spencer began to leave, giving Hanna a sympathetic smile, and Emily a longing gaze. Hanna fell asleep on the couch that night, next to Caleb. Emily spent the night in Hanna's bed, in her old room, contemplating what A as Ezra really meant, and other, less professional thoughts.

At Rosewood High that morning, Spencer, Emily, and Hanna met at their usual table. Spencer had dark, undereye circles and the diary, marked with post it notes, in her hands. "Is it safe to assume, that Aria's taking a much needed day off?" Emily wondered, looking out at the massive student body.

"It seems that way." Hanna took the journal from Spencer's hand, opening the expertly organized pages. "Why do I have a sense that this is your OCD journal?"

"It's not. I made the pages into marked sections, purple for Emily, yellow for Hanna, red for myself, and green for Aria. The orange sticky notes are for the things I don't understand." Spencer's rigid intelligence never managed to shock the girl's.

"I'll take mine first, maybe read some of yours." Hanna said in a strangely eager way. Who genuinely wanted to read what Alison, queen bee, had to say about them.

"Really, Hanna? I'll read mine first, nothing I haven't heard before." Emily added, trying to protect her friend from the stories about 'Hefty Hanna' that may be in there.

"Seriously Em, I got this, I'll give it to you when I'm done." With that, Hanna, rocking the dark braids, snatched the pink journal from Spencer's hands. Emily stood up to go to class, but Spencer stopped her.

"I know this isn't the right time, but at some point, can we talk about what happened last night?" Spencer's heart was pounding, her fingers trembled slightly, Emily was her best friend, she couldn't ruin that, not even for a romance. Emily's usually calm face was unreadable, her eyes looked almost vacant.

"Spencer, I think we should talk about this. It was a mistake, even the thought of us being anything, never mind kissing, can't happen. You are straight, you know that. Nothing will happen with us, I like girls, you've convinced yourself that you like girls. That's the difference." Spencer felt her own heart being torn apart in her chest, Emily had taken her true feelings, her love for her, and twisted and misconstrued it completely. She felt tears welling up in her brown orbs of eyes.

"Em, stop. You know that's not the case, I'm the opposite of confused about how I feel about you." Spencer couldn't handle this kind of rejection from her best friend.

"Spence, but it is the case. I need to get to class." Emily stomped away, coldly.

That night, Spencer sat on her back porch, imagining what weird stories Ali had written about her, what secrets she may have revealed. She had feelings for Emily ever since the swimmer first became a part of their friend group with Alison, small butterflies but still feelings. They had stayed that way up until this very year, in which they became something more. Her feelings for Emily had became an all encompassing love, it consumed her, every second, every minute. Just as she thought of this, the girl of her thoughts came bounding through the gate. Emily Fields, in all her glory, had showed up after all. "Em, you don't have to be here. I know you have better things to do, then reject me again."

"Spencer, please, for once, stop talking." The raven haired girl grabbed Spencer's hand, stopping her from talking for the moment. "Let me do the talking." She took a deep breath, and continued on. "Earlier today, I got scared, by scared, I mean terrified. Terrified that I'd end up hurting you, or that this would be an Ali situation. Spencer, I love you, and I've been in love with you for so long. I wanted to be safe, and keep this all to myself, but I couldn't. I'm afraid that I'm never going to love anyone the way I love you." As she said those words, she brought Spencer's face up to her own. Her heart hammering, Emily tentatively pressed her lips to the other girl's. Spencer's lip were plush, and tasted a bit like raspberries. She melted into Emily's arms, wrapping her arms around her neck. Spencer gently swiped her tongue on Emily's bottom lip, begging for an entrance. It was like fireworks were exploding between them, wild and passionate. The kiss grew more intense, and Emily grew flustered. She pulled back, a smile on her face.

"You didn't prepare me for that." Spencer's cheeks were a shade of fiery red, and she was grinning from ear to ear.

"You think I was prepared for that?" As they giggled, Emily's phone rung out. It was a text from Hanna, saying "you'll never believe what I found in Ali's diary. SOS, I might know where she is." Spencer's jaw dropped, did Hanna just say she might know where Ali is, she and Emily ran out to the car like there was no tomorrow.

**A's POV**

The girl's were always so dumb. Thinking that finding Ali would be as easy as an answer in some, very manipulated journal. Sometimes they were too dumb for their own good. On the other hand, there was me, sitting here in the Busy Bee Inn. They will all go here, and find nothing, no Ali, of course. She had thought that she had this running away thing all figured out, but she was wrong. I'm coming for her, and she'll have no idea. Because no one will have suspected the innocent **Aria Montgomery**, they had no reason to even consider the fact that there closest friend is the one ruining their lives..


End file.
